I think putting the star where currently the turret is would work well. Not sure where to put turret though, I'd remove it all together as I don't think it's that useful. Or it could switch - if there are new posts, use a star that would take you to the first new post, if there aren't - use a turret that'd take you to the latest post.
Uh and yes I'm a fan of "NEW" button too, though I'd really like to see the above idea in action.